THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608100322
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 39 lines
After going it alone during training for the Olympics, pole vaulter Lawrence C. Johnson is in final negotiations with a new coach.
Johnson said his new trainer will be Roman Botcharnikov, a Russian pole vaulting expert who now lives in Missouri. Johnson said Botcharnikov was an assistant coach and translator for Vitaly Petrov, who coached Ukrainian Sergei Bubka, a world record holder and five-time world champion.
Johnson said he met Botcharnikov three years ago at a pole vaulting workshop in Reno, Nev. The Russian traveled from Kansas City to Hampton Roads Friday for discussions with Johnson.
``He's a great technical analyst,'' said Johnson, who is spending a few days at his parents' Chesapeake home before leaving for Europe Sunday to compete on the professional circuit. Botcharnikov will not accompany him on the trip.
The details of Botcharnikov's contract with Johnson, such as salary, have yet to be negotiated, Johnson said.
Discussions are due to be completed after Johnson returns from Europe in September. ``I believe we're going to get something worked out,'' Johnson said.
Johnson has been without a coach since late June when discussions with former coach Jim Bemiller fell through. Bemiller is a Knoxville attorney and a volunteer vaulting coach at the University of Tennessee, where Johnson won the NCAA championships twice.
Johnson had to train mostly alone for the Olympics, where he came in eighth in the finals. Now, he said, he is looking for intensive help with his technique.
``The situation I'm trying to put myself into is to try to be coached four to five hours a day, instead of the four to six hours a week I had previously,'' he said.
Johnson is scheduled to begin training in Knoxville in mid-September.
Botcharnikov could not be reached for comment Friday. by CNB